Released at cinemas just at the end of lockdown, Those Who Wish Me Dead did not achieve the box office returns that it might otherwise had done. It is, however, a pleasingly old-fashioned, muscular action/adventure movie starring Angelina Jolie as Hannah, a Montana based ‘smoke jumper’, a profession that involves fighting wild fires. As a massive fire approaches, she encounters Connor (Finn Little), a young boy fleeing two assassins who have murdered his father.
When ace screenwriter Taylor Sheridan was brought in to polish the script, he was given the director’s chair as he promised he could get Jolie on board. This is perfect territory for Sheridan following his impressive work on similarly rugged films like Hell or High Water and Wind River and he does not disappoint in either discipline. Jolie, though, is outshone by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult as the more charismatic killers.
There is plenty of action with the raging fire looking particularly impressive. It could be argued that there are two films – one about the hunt for Connor and one about fighting the fire – shoehorned into one feature. However, that does not stop this being a very enjoyable watch.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10